Note 10 - Financial Instruments with Off-balance Sheet Risk

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2016

Concentration Risk Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 10: Financial Instruments with Off-Balance Sheet Risk

In the normal course of business, the Company is a party to financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk to meet the financing needs of its customers. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit and involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amounts recognized in the balance sheet. The contractual amounts of these instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in particular classes of financial instruments.

The contractual amount of commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit represents the total amount of potential accounting loss should the contracts be fully drawn upon, the customers default, and the value of any existing collateral become worthless. The Company uses the same credit policies in approving commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments and evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. Management believes that the Company controls the credit risk of these financial instruments through credit approvals, credit limits, monitoring procedures and the receipt of collateral as deemed necessary.

Financial instruments whose contractual amounts represent credit risk at September 30, 2016 are as follows:

Commitments to extend credit:	(in thousands)
Future loan commitments	$	17,833
Home equity lines of credit		21,303
Unused lines of credit		14,742
Undisbursed construction loans		19,574
Financial standby letters of credit		1,313
	$	74,765

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments to extend credit generally have fixed expiration dates, or other termination clauses, and may require payment of a fee by the borrower. Since these commitments could expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral held varies, but may include residential and commercial property, deposits and securities. The Company has established a reserve as of September 30, 2016 for these commitments, which amount is minimal and included in accrued expenses and other liabilities.

Standby letters of credit are written commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. Guarantees that are not derivative contracts are recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at their fair value at inception. Any instruments deemed to be derivatives would be accounted for as a fair value or cash flow hedge as appropriate.